INDUSTRY EDUCATION

hen the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum prepared for the USC Football Season home opener against Missouri State on August 30, the stadium’ s Athletic Turf & Grounds crew featured six special guests.

Decked out in a full cardinal-and-gold wardrobe, four high school students and two teachers joined in on the fun, bringing enthusiasm and excitement while learning firsthand how to care for, maintain, paint and otherwise prepare the natural grass playing surface for game day. The students and teachers traveled to Los Angeles from the Central Valley, leaving their Atwater and Golden Valley High School turf and field classrooms behind for three days to experience this opportunity of a lifetime.

BEHIND THE SCENES The students and their agriculture instructors were invited by the LA Memorial Coliseum’ s Director of Sports Turf, Scott Lupold, to work alongside his hand-selected crew. The group was immersed in the demanding competition field preparation process under Lupold’ s direction and leadership. On Thursday, the focus was on white paint; football yard lines, hash marks, numbers, and sponsor logos were outlined. On Friday, paint in the machines changed to cardinal, gold and blue, and the students and instructors assisted with filling in end zones, sponsor logos, and the center“ SC” interlock. And on Saturday— game day— tarps were laid, the field was detailed, the warning track was swept and

40 SportsField Management | October 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com